Innovative Start-ups. Do Gender and Age really matter in entrepreneurship?

Purpose: This work discusses the reasons behind the significant gender gap registered in the advanced technologies industries and the knock-on effect it may have on sectors marked by digitalisation. The purpose of the study is to detect the scale of the female entrepreneurship presence in the high-tech sector and gain a better understanding of the extent to which entrepreneurship by men and women is different. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research methodology mainly rests on two ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression models. Such econometric technique is widely used to estimate the relationship between female presence and firm performance also in the domain of women entrepreneurs’ performance related studies. Originality/Value: This paper aims to further explore the correlation between entrepreneurs’ attributes - such as gender and age - and performance, in order to evaluate if “the gender underperformance hypothesis” is confirmed even for new technology-based ventures and when governmental initiatives seeking to support female and young entrepreneurship are provided. Practical Implications: Our results suggest that the promotion of dedicated programs for supporting entrepreneurship is effective in lowering the barriers of fund raising for both women and young entrepreneurs. The latter could represent a further explanation to the homogeneousness emerging between male-owned firms and female business in term of financial performance, as similar capital is associated with comparable performance. The policy of the Start-up Act seems to be able to encourage inclusiveness and competitiveness, making innovative entrepreneurship also accessible to female and young founders.